Flannels
Luxury Fashion brand Flannels has recently opened its new flagship store on Oxford Street in London. The project began in the summer of 2017, and spans four floors and houses a curated mix of men’s and women’s luxury designer clothing and accessories, featuring catwalk collections to the latest streetwear drops, from emerging designers and luxury’s biggest names including Balmain, Burberry, Ganni, Gucci, Off-White, Versace and Vetements.
pconp studio was appointed to carry out a new concept for this particular store. Flannels bought and renovated the whole building for the flagship store and then brought pconp on board.
Ermanno Previdi, founder and chief of pconp studio told us more about the design concept for Flannels:
“In the case of the concept for Flannels, our design team came up with the idea behind the aesthetics of the shops in collaboration with the artist Riccardo Previdi. Having worked in collaboration with the leading Italian and international fashion brands for over twenty years, we have developed specific professional skills in the sector of luxury retail from all points of view, including design and technical.
“This was a very bold operation. Flannels was born in 1976, but this is their first store in London.
“Our main source of inspiration for Flannels was a drawing created in 1903 by symbolist painter Odilon Redon: Ophelia. This work of art allowed us to shape the whole project, giving us both the conceptual basis and the formal stimuli. In this drawing we found a dreamlike and timeless quality, a certain Gothic atmosphere, the intrinsic Englishness of the Shakespearean subject as well as her irrefutable universality, the compresence of very different languages and, last but not least, we found our colour palette.”
THE STORY BEHIND THE CONCEPT
‘Brutto ma bello’ is the first chapter of the project story, it tells about disparate colours, surfaces, and objects, to create a complex, apparently disharmonious setting that is nevertheless natural and inviting. ‘Luxury is a Story to Tell’ is all about the sense of exploration in finding unique treasure. ‘Ophelia’, based on Odilon Redon’s 1903 drawing, intermixes idioms and colours to convey a dreamlike, timeless dimension, a gothic atmosphere, and the subject’s intrinsic Englishness yet unquestionable universality. ‘Incompiuto’ reflects historic ruin, the columns giving rhythm to the space are left bare, only partially faced in ruin-like volumes, remnants of a material that has been lost over time.
Other chapters include ‘Gothic Futurism’ ‘Contemporary Baroque’ ,’Vintage Brutalism’ and ‘ Spazio fluido’.
Ermanno Previdi said:
“The greatest challenge of this project was shaping a space that was out of the ordinary and which would go beyond the typical cliché of high-end boutiques. Therefore, we decided to distance ourselves from the concept of luxury as something that is lavish, intimidating and, in the case of fashion, predominantly feminine. We set ourselves the goal of creating an environment that could be engaging and indirectly interesting for everyone, regardless of their age, sex or gender.
“I’m long time experienced in luxury retail especially in fashion retail. As designer, I always find it stimulating when a client asks not only to develop a project for just one shop, but also to create an architectural language applicable to places and buildings that are all very different from each other.
“We were not just tasked with solving architectural problems but also, and above all, conceptual ones. The first part of our work was therefore devoted to the in-depth re-examination of what Flannels could be in terms of its shops. During planning, our ideas and challenges were always welcomed by the client, who collaborated with us, responding with innovative ideas and pursuing with us the goal of constructing a new language that could revolutionise the atmosphere of their shops. I think the result is an amazing statement for the brand. We are very proud of it.”
Coccion Construction
Coccion Construction is a leading UK construction company with expertise in small-to-medium size construction, refurbishment, new-build and specialist interior fit-out contracts.
In operation since 2004, Coccion Construction provides a fresh, pro-active approach to each and every project, no matter the size. The company was recently engaged as the main contractor for the new Flannels flagship store on Oxford Street.
Previous clients for Coccion include Sports Direct, JD Wetherspoon and Revolution.
Jon Edwards, Owner, said:
“This was a fantastic project for Coccion as it meant working on a major retailer’s flagship store. This was a highly rewarding experience and we look forward to an opportunity in the near future to work alongside them again.
“We had the refreshing challenge of working together with international suppliers on this project. We also worked with some experienced and skilled international architects on this project, and it was fantastic to be able to be a part of a creative, talented team bringing the design to life.
“As a company, we take pride in delivering a high quality product and reliable service, and ensuring that every project is the best it can be no matter the complexity of the works.”
To find out more, please visit www.coccionconstruction.co.uk.
